THE SWAN AND HER CREW. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



Oulton Broad. Lateeners. Lowestoft. Ringed- Plover's Nest. Oyster- 

 catcher. Shore Fishing. A Perilous Sail. 



THEY sailed quietly down the river again, and excited much 

 attention from the many yachts they met. They turned 

 off along Oulton Dyke, and on to Oulton Broad. The 

 lake was full of craft of all rigs and sizes. There had 

 been a regatta there the day before, and the major part of 

 the yachts still remained. There was a stately schooner, 

 moving with dignity ; a smart cutter, heeling well over, but 



LATEEN SAIL. 



dashing along at a great pace ; a heavy lugger ; and, most grace- 

 ful of all, the lateeners. These are a class of boats peculiar to 

 the Norfolk waters and to the Mediterranean. The shape of 

 them will be familiar to all who have ever looked at a picture 

 of the Bay of Naples. They carry immense yards, the yard 

 of a boat thirty feet long being about sixty feet in length 

 Such a yard, of course, carries a very large sail. In addition 

 to this large sail they have a fore and aft mizen astern. They 



